inyati13
Well-known member
On Wednesday August 5. 1964, we shoved off at 7:00 am in the morning. The grade of the river was increasing as we paddled our way up-stream. We went through a half mile of river that was riffles and strong current. The sixteen foot Grumman canoe was like paddling a barge. Uncle Bill wrote the following in his diary, "A little farther on we found a spring with a stream about 4 inches out of the side of the bank, cold as ice and crystal clear. We drank all we could hold. Filled our jugs and moved on."
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was 14 years old. My Uncle, Henry and I were going up the Licking River. When my Uncle was drinking that water, I still remember how he was bragging, "Ah, this is the best water I have ever drank." He carried on like it was Perrier from France. My memory is that it was just water. But my Uncle was a master of the art of exaggeration. We saw something floating dead on the river one morning, Uncle said it was a bobcat. It was really just a dead cat but he loved to add drama to our experience. Truth be told, my brother and I enjoyed his style of exaggeration. One day we saw a harmless snake floating by, but to Uncle Bill, it was a deadly copperhead.
On Thursday August 6, 1964, my Uncle recorded, "Moved out at 8 am saw gars floating alongside the canoe. I got bitten by a Black Widow spider this morning and a snake doctor later. We don't know which one caused it. But I got bad fever. I started getting cold chills. So Henry and Ronnie done all the paddling till me made camp. I went to the tent and got into my sleeping bag. Drank hot tea and took aspirins. I had fever that day and night."
On the morning of Friday August 7, 1964, my Uncle woke to find he had shyt his sleeping bag. He was extremely weak and sick. Sores had broke out on his back. We opened them with a needle and put merthiolate on them. We decided to stay over in the camp. My Uncle striped down and I left to go fishing. I knew the duties that were coming and I didn't want to get any assignments. Henry always was the more responsible of the two of us, so he took my Uncle's bed clothes to the river and washed the shyt out. I was down river fishing when I noticed soap suds floating by. I knew the worst was over so I decided to go back to the camp. Henry hung the clothes on a line in the sunshine. I caught a nice bass later that night and Henry fixed us a nice supper.
The next day Uncle Bill was better. Henry and I did the paddling as we headed downriver. My Uncle sat in the passenger chair and went on most of the day how he had survived both the bite of a Snake Doctor and a Black Widow all at the same time.
We were passing the spot where we had drank the best water my Uncle had ever had in his life. There were two farmers standing at the discharge of the spring. My Uncle said lets pull in and fill up our jugs. When we got close, the farmers ask what we wanted. My Uncle said, "If you don't mind we would like to fill out jugs with that fine spring water." They laughed so hard we thought they were crazy. When one of them gained his composure, he said, "No you don't want to drink that, that is tile water from the field above the bank. Above that is where the hog lot is. That ain't nothing but hog shyt boys."
Now we know it wasn't a Black Widow or a Snake Doctor that made Uncle sick.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was 14 years old. My Uncle, Henry and I were going up the Licking River. When my Uncle was drinking that water, I still remember how he was bragging, "Ah, this is the best water I have ever drank." He carried on like it was Perrier from France. My memory is that it was just water. But my Uncle was a master of the art of exaggeration. We saw something floating dead on the river one morning, Uncle said it was a bobcat. It was really just a dead cat but he loved to add drama to our experience. Truth be told, my brother and I enjoyed his style of exaggeration. One day we saw a harmless snake floating by, but to Uncle Bill, it was a deadly copperhead.
On Thursday August 6, 1964, my Uncle recorded, "Moved out at 8 am saw gars floating alongside the canoe. I got bitten by a Black Widow spider this morning and a snake doctor later. We don't know which one caused it. But I got bad fever. I started getting cold chills. So Henry and Ronnie done all the paddling till me made camp. I went to the tent and got into my sleeping bag. Drank hot tea and took aspirins. I had fever that day and night."
On the morning of Friday August 7, 1964, my Uncle woke to find he had shyt his sleeping bag. He was extremely weak and sick. Sores had broke out on his back. We opened them with a needle and put merthiolate on them. We decided to stay over in the camp. My Uncle striped down and I left to go fishing. I knew the duties that were coming and I didn't want to get any assignments. Henry always was the more responsible of the two of us, so he took my Uncle's bed clothes to the river and washed the shyt out. I was down river fishing when I noticed soap suds floating by. I knew the worst was over so I decided to go back to the camp. Henry hung the clothes on a line in the sunshine. I caught a nice bass later that night and Henry fixed us a nice supper.
The next day Uncle Bill was better. Henry and I did the paddling as we headed downriver. My Uncle sat in the passenger chair and went on most of the day how he had survived both the bite of a Snake Doctor and a Black Widow all at the same time.
We were passing the spot where we had drank the best water my Uncle had ever had in his life. There were two farmers standing at the discharge of the spring. My Uncle said lets pull in and fill up our jugs. When we got close, the farmers ask what we wanted. My Uncle said, "If you don't mind we would like to fill out jugs with that fine spring water." They laughed so hard we thought they were crazy. When one of them gained his composure, he said, "No you don't want to drink that, that is tile water from the field above the bank. Above that is where the hog lot is. That ain't nothing but hog shyt boys."
Now we know it wasn't a Black Widow or a Snake Doctor that made Uncle sick.
